XPO Opens Its Largest Facility, Employing 450 in Pennsylvania
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XPO Inc. has opened its largest operation, a 273,000-square-foot facility on a 121-acre property near Carlisle, Pa.
The 281-door facility opened in November but officially celebrated its arrival on June 10 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. And XPO has been increasing its operations over time. The facility currently has about 450 employees, including about 180 truck drivers, as well as supervisors, customer service employees, dockworkers and mechanics.
Service manager Ryan Spencer said, “This is essentially my dream job. I started with the company that built this building [Roadway Express]. ... Going home to Carlisle and managing [this building] has always been my dream.”
XPO has more than 300 centers across North America.
“This is the biggest building within the XPO network by 25% in terms of total freight flow and employee head count,” Spencer said.
A ribbon-cutting is held for the facility on June 10. (Dan Gleiter/pennlive.com/TNS)
While the facility is now home to XPO, it has been a trucking terminal for decades and was home to Roadway Express and later Yellow, which operated out of the facility until the summer of 2023, when the company abruptly filed for bankruptcy and closed.
XPO ranks No. 5on theTransport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriersin North America and No. 3 on theLTL sector list. It also ranks No. 35 on theTT Top 50 list of the largest global freight companies.
The center is one of 28 former Yellow facilities that XPO purchased for about $800 million.
Spencer and the hundreds of XPO workers are breathing new life into a space that sat vacant for more than a year.
The complex is also home to the two largest shops in the XPO network. One of them performs work on tractors and trailers. The second one is closed.
There is also a shop used for forklift repairs.
The 281-door facility primarily provides LTL freight services. (Dan Gleiter/pennlive.com/TNS)
The facility has a local pickup and delivery operation but primarily provides less-than-truckload freight services across the country.
Being the largest facility in the network has its perks. When new equipment comes online, it often starts out in Middlesex Township.
As large as the facility is, it is nowhere near full capacity yet, according to Tim Staroba, president of the East Division of XPO, who said it still probably has 30%-35% space left to move freight through. And they could still hire hundreds more.
“Everything really depends on the economy, but we could easily get to [600 to] 700 people,” he said.
XPO says the average annual income for an employee in Pennsylvania is more than $70,000, and drivers have the potential to earn six figures.
XPO has its own training schools on the premises. If hired, the company trains the drivers for six weeks in-house, both on the road and in the classroom, all while being paid.
The facility has about 450 employees, including about 180 truck drivers, as well as supervisors, customer service employees, dockworkers and mechanics. (Dan Gleiter/pennlive.com/TNS)
At the end of the training, students have a Class A commercial driver license and a full-time job. The company also trains mechanics and dockworkers.
“I think what I’m most proud of ... is we’ve always been able to lift people up and provide more and more job opportunities,” Staroba said.
XPO has 17 facilities in Pennsylvania and handles about a billion pounds of freight going in, out, or through Pennsylvania, Staroba said. He also points out that the Carlisle facility, which is near major interstates, is in a great place geographically, adding that 80% of the U.S. population is within 500 to 600 miles of the Carlisle-area facility.
The company consolidated its operations in Hagerstown, Md., before opening in Cumberland County.
XPO employs around 23,000 people in North America. Staroba said the company handles freight for almost every industry, including major retailers.
“If you see a logo, chances are we’ve probably picked up or delivered freight from them. Some of the largest retailers in the world depend on us,” he said.
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Spencer says that a lot of XPO’s competitors are decreasing in size at a time when the company is opening new buildings and hiring thousands of people nationally.
“Part of it is our service focus, part of it is that we are very focused on the future and future growth,” he said.
XPO handles 17 billion pounds of freight per year and serves approximately 55,000 customers. It is based in Connecticut.
In 2021, GXO Logistics, a contract logistics provider, spun off from XPO Logistics. In 2022, RXO, a truckload broker, also spun off from XPO Logistics. On Dec. 19, 2022, XPO Logistics changed its name to XPO.
GXO ranks No. 3 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America. RXO ranks No. 16.
